New Delhi:
After a training exercise for its newly-elected MPs, the BJP today held a day-long session of its leaders who lost out in the elections in a bid to boost their morale.
BJP President Rajnath Singh, also the Union Home Minister, met each of them and told them to remain connected with people in their constituencies and continue working for their welfare.
He also told the 140-odd candidates to introspect on their defeat and continue their efforts so that they get elected in the next election. As part of the soul searching exercise, these leaders also listed reasons for their defeat.
"BJP President Rajnath Singh met each one of the party leaders from across the country who lost in the Lok Sabha elections and asked them to continue and work for public welfare," BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters after the meeting.
He said the BJP chief also boosted their morale and told them that they have to come up to the expectations of lakhs of people who have voted for them and their problems and issues need to be addressed by them even though they were defeated.
Mr Singh told the leaders that the BJP had emerged as the biggest party in the country after the elections and people of the country have pinned all their hopes on it by giving a thumping mandate in Lok Sabha elections and the party and government have to live up to their expectations.
This was the first-ever exercise to involve the losing candidates by BJP.
Almost 140 leaders of BJP from across the country were present in today's meet, which was also attended by many other senior party leaders. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who lost from Amritsar was, however, not present.
Among others who also addressed the meeting include Union minister Ananth Kumar, BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and BJP general secretaries Ram Lal, J P Nadda and Murlidhar Rao.
Mr Singh also told the BJP leaders that a new set-up in the party would be in place shortly and a system to sort out their grievances.
A majority of the leaders present in the session were from West Bengal and Odisha where the BJP did not score well, even though it gained substantially in its vote share.
The party chief asked the leaders from West Bengal and Odisha to work hard to help make BJP a strong party in these states.
There was no leader from as many as 10 states and Union Territories where the BJP had won all seats, while there were few from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Among the reasons some losing candidates listed out for their defeat included local factors and direct fights in some pockets.